AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Broadcast Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Broadcast Technicians: 28 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

40% weighted task index

28 of 28 tasks scored

Median Salary

$59,570 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

21,110 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-3.1% employment change

1,600 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$27,310 – $108,270

Highest medians

District of Columbia $108,270

New Hampshire $81,150

Pennsylvania $80,470

New York $78,840

Illinois $74,210

Lowest medians

West Virginia $27,310

Mississippi $27,750

Utah $31,490

Puerto Rico $31,580

South Dakota $32,150

State figures come from the 27-4012 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 40%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 51%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 21%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 16%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 3/100 Low

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

28 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 22%

8 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 17%

5 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 61%

15 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#18654 · Core · 25% automatable

Play and record broadcast programs, using automation systems.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4014 · Core · 42% automatable

Report equipment problems, ensure that repairs are made, and make emergency repairs to equipment when necessary and possible.

text generation — Equipment problem notification is routine messaging

Maintain recording or broadcasting equipment. Notify others of equipment problems.

#18655 · Core · 25% automatable

Set up, operate, and maintain broadcast station computers and networks.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4011 · Core · 30% automatable

Observe monitors and converse with station personnel to determine audio and video levels and to ascertain that programs are airing.

visual inspection — Live broadcast monitoring needs real-time human oversight

Monitor broadcasting operations to ensure proper functioning.

#4009 · Core · 28% automatable

Monitor strength, clarity, and reliability of incoming and outgoing signals, and adjust equipment as necessary to maintain quality broadcasts.

visual inspection — Live broadcast monitoring needs real-time human oversight

Monitor broadcasting operations to ensure proper functioning. Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4008 · Core · 20% automatable

Control audio equipment to regulate volume and sound quality during radio and television broadcasts.

physical manipulation — Console operation requires live physical adjustment

Operate control consoles for sound, lighting or video.

#18653 · Core · 82% automatable

Monitor and log transmitter readings.

data analysis — Maintain production activity logs from inputs

Maintain logs of production activities.

#4010 · Core · 20% automatable

Regulate the fidelity, brightness, and contrast of video transmissions, using video console control panels.

physical manipulation — Console operation requires live physical adjustment

Operate control consoles for sound, lighting or video.

#4013 · Core · 25% automatable

Select sources from which programming will be received or through which programming will be transmitted.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#18656 · Core · 22% automatable

Install broadcast equipment, troubleshoot equipment problems, and perform maintenance or minor repairs, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment. Maintain recording or broadcasting equipment.

#4012 · Core · 30% automatable

Preview scheduled programs to ensure that signals are functioning and programs are ready for transmission.

visual inspection — Live broadcast monitoring needs real-time human oversight

Monitor broadcasting operations to ensure proper functioning.

#4015 · Core · 20% automatable

Record sound onto tape or film for radio or television, checking its quality and making adjustments where necessary.

physical manipulation — Recording equipment physically set up and operated

Operate audio recording equipment.

#4017 · Core · 25% automatable

Substitute programs in cases where signals fail.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4016 · Core · 25% automatable

Align antennae with receiving dishes to obtain the clearest signal for transmission of broadcasts from field locations.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4026 · Core · 45% automatable

Design and modify equipment to employer specifications.

decision support — AI drafts tooling; machinist and engineer verify

Design tools, fixtures, or other devices for production equipment. Design electrical equipment or systems.

#4022 · Core · 55% automatable

Edit broadcast material electronically, using computers.

visual inspection — AI assists cuts; editorial and technical judgment human

Edit audio or video recordings.

#4018 · Core · 25% automatable

Organize recording sessions and prepare areas, such as radio booths and television stations, for recording.

interpersonal — Directing live productions requires human leadership

Direct productions or performances.

#4025 · Core · 62% automatable

Determine the number, type, and approximate location of microphones needed for best sound recording or transmission quality, and position them appropriately.

decision support — Technical requirements drafted; human owns spec

Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.

#4024 · Core · 25% automatable

Set up and operate portable field transmission equipment outside the studio.

physical manipulation — Broadcast equipment operation is hands-on hardware work

Operate communications, transmissions, or broadcasting equipment.

#4007 · Supplemental · 82% automatable

Maintain programming logs as required by station management and the Federal Communications Commission.

data analysis — Maintain production activity logs from inputs

Maintain logs of production activities.

#18659 · Supplemental · 72% automatable

Produce graphics for broadcasts.

text generation — Write informational material from brief

Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information. Create computer-generated graphics or animation. Write informational material.

#4023 · Supplemental · 30% automatable

Give technical directions to other personnel during filming.

interpersonal — Coordinating production personnel is live supervisory work

Coordinate activities of production personnel.

#4021 · Supplemental · 77% automatable

Schedule programming or read television programming logs to determine which programs are to be recorded or aired.

text generation — Reading and deriving actions from text is core LLM

Read materials to determine needed actions. Schedule operational activities.

#4020 · Supplemental · 42% automatable

Instruct trainees in use of television production equipment, filming of events, and copying and editing graphics or sound onto videotape.

interpersonal — Work-process coaching requires live human interaction

Train others on work processes.

#24029 · Supplemental · 70% automatable

Develop budgets.

data analysis — Reports and budgets drafted; human owns assumptions

Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets. Prepare operational budgets. Prepare operational budgets for green energy or other green operations. Prepare project budgets.

#4028 · Supplemental · 48% automatable

Discuss production requirements with clients.

interpersonal — Needs elicitation requires human rapport and judgment

Confer with clients to determine needs.

#4029 · Supplemental · 70% automatable

Produce educational and training films and videotapes by performing activities, such as selecting equipment and preparing scripts.

text generation — Write informational material from brief

Develop educational or training programs. Write informational material.

#4027 · Supplemental · 82% automatable

Prepare reports outlining past and future programs, including content.

data analysis — Maintain production activity logs from inputs

Maintain logs of production activities.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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